


Dreaming of Home

by profslupin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Light Angst, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 09:08:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13314987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/profslupin/pseuds/profslupin
Summary: Lance has a dream about his family and goes to Keith for comfort.





	Dreaming of Home

**Author's Note:**

> im so emo for lance and his family

_“Lance? Lance! Oh, mi hijo, is that really you?” Lance’s mother rushed forward from the doorway to embrace her son, two years older than when she had seen him last._

_“Hola, mamá,” Lance returned softly, clutching the soft material on the back of her shirt, tears already staining his cheeks._

_“Where have you been, Lance?” She pulled back, placing her hands on his cheeks. “We never stopped looking for you. We missed you so much, cariño.” At those words, she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to dam the next wave of tears that threatened to flow. “We all missed you so much.”_

_“I’m sorry, mamá, I’m so sorry,” Lance cried as he allowed himself to be led inside the modest house that he had pictured so many times when he was in space, light years away._

_“Oh my God, Lance!”_

_“Lance? Is that really-”_

_“We didn’t think we’d ever see you again!”_

_Lance was tackled, would’ve stumbled and fallen had it not been for two years of training and building strength, by his younger sister, while his older siblings joined less than a second later, enveloping him in a bone crushing hug._

_“Hey, gremlin,” Lance choked out with a sad smile at his younger sister. “I’ve missed you guys.” He returned their embrace, no longer trying to stop the tears that were wetting his sister’s sleeve._

_“We missed you, too.”_

  
  
Lance blinked his eyes open, a small smile tugging on the corners of his lips, and sat up. It had been so long since he had seen his family; he had so much to tell them about, so much to catch up on. Mariana, his younger sister, must have turned seventeen recently, the same age he had been when he left, she must have so much she-

He stopped.

Looking around the room, he recognized the familiar white walls of his room on the castle. Not the comforting blue of his room back on Earth, the room in his _home_.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Lance breathed out, gripping the blanket bunched around his stomach. His eyes stung, but he willed the tears not to fall. The realization that seeing his family again had been just a dream, a wonderful, beautiful, too-real dream, left him burning with restless energy. He threw the covers off himself and shook out his hands as he paced, hoping that would create an outlet for it, but to no avail.

Lance let out a frustrated, choked noise that he could barely recognize as having come from him and held his arms around himself in a slumped posture. He glanced at the clock.

_Still the middle of the night. I’ll never be able to fall back asleep like this._

Lance sighed in defeat and slunk out of his room. He didn’t know where he was going, but he hoped that wandering the castle, or even training, would help ease the ache in his chest that left a lump in his throat.

He was surprised, then, to find himself pausing in front of Keith’s room. It was in the opposite direction than either the training room or the castle’s kitchen. He should’ve known, though, that his traitorous body would lead him here. His hand hovered in front of the door, poised to knock, but he hesitated, lowered his arm, and turned away. Only for a moment.

_This is stupid. I’m being stupid. We’re all homesick, I can’t just wake Keith up for no reason._

Lance sighed, knowing the decision had been made for him as soon as he had turned to walk down this hall. Turning back to the door, he knocked curtly before crossing his arms in front of him and looking down at his feet.

_Keith is gonna be so mad that I woke him up for something as silly as a dream-_

“Lance?” Keith rubbed at his eyes. “What’s going on?”

Lance glanced up and gave Keith a sheepish grin.

“Woah, Lance. Are-are you okay?” Keith took a step forward, reaching an arm out to grip Lance’s shoulder. Lance swiped at his cheek with the heel of his hand, feeling a wetness there that he hadn’t realized had formed.

“Yeah, yeah! I’m fine, sorry to wake you up so late…” Lance trailed off, looking back down at the floor.

_What am I doing here? I don’t know what I’m supposed to say… Why did I think this was a good idea?_

Keith tugged Lance inside his room, letting the door slide shut with a soft _swsh_. “Lance, c’mon. You’re obviously not okay. Was… was it a nightmare?” The concern in Keith’s voice caused Lance to look back up at him, where he saw a crease between his eyebrows. His expression softened as he continued, “I get them sometimes, and I know the others do, too. It’s okay-”

“It wasn’t a nightmare,” Lance said miserably, tightening his arms around himself. “I’m sorry, it was-it was stupid. I should just let you get back to sleep-” he choked out before a sob tore its way out of his throat.

“Jesus, Lance, it obviously wasn’t _nothing_ ,” Keith said, pulling Lance into a hug reminiscent of the one his mother had given him in the dream, which only served to make Lance cry harder. Keith released him after a moment, then pulled Lance down onto his bed so they were perched along the edge of the mattress, his arm slung over Lance’s shoulder.

Lance sniffled, forcing back even more sobs before they could escape his lips. “I’m sorry.” He fiddled with the hem of his sleep shirt.

“Don’t be.”

“I’m just being dumb. I’ll get over it.”

“Lance,” Keith sighed in exasperation, “I’ve seen you acting dumb plenty of times. This isn’t one of them. You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but…” Keith gestured helplessly with the hand that wasn’t resting on Lance’s arm.

Lance sighed. “Okay.” He took a breath before continuing, “I just. I woke up from a dream… Where I was going home. My mamá answered the door, and then the rest of my family was there, all my siblings, and it was just-it was just so _real_. I didn’t realize it was just a dream when I woke up, I thought I’d be able to leave my bedroom and go see them and-and then I saw the walls and I remembered where I was.”

“Oh.”

Lance laughed. “Yeah. I told you I was being dumb.” He stared at his hands, which were still fidgeting with the silky fabric of his shirt. Keith’s free hand came into view, resting on top of his tanned ones, stilling them.

“You’re not being dumb, Lance. It’s not stupid to want to see your family again.” Keith chuckled and said, “I’d be more concerned if you didn’t miss them, from all the stories you’ve told about them.”  
Lance could feel his eyes welling up again and he blinked several times before responding. “We all miss Earth, though. I’m not special. And I’m sorry for dumping this on you, like you’re my space therapist or something, it’s not fair of me.”

“But I’m your _friend_. You’re not dumping this on me, okay? You let everyone else come to you all the time, and we do because you’re so compassionate and-and you always know how to make us feel better, especially me… I-I want to help, if I can. Even though I know I’m bad at this sort of thing.”

Lance laughed wetly and leaned into Keith’s side. “You’re doing fine.”

“Do you want to… tell me about them?”

“There’s nothing I haven’t told you a million times before.”

“I’m sure you can think of something. I’ve noticed you’re pretty good at talking,” Keith said, smirking down at Lance.

“Hey! Don’t act like you don’t enjoy the velvety sound of my voice! These vocal chords were _made_ for narrating science documentaries!” Lance cried indignantly, the ache in his chest finally beginning to lessen.

“Yeah, whatever. So. Your family?” Keith prompted again, poking Lance in the side and adjusting their position to be more comfortable.

“Oh. Yeah. Well, the twins are twenty-three now, and Mariana just turned seventeen…”

* * *

 

Lance didn’t remember drifting off again, but when he woke, he was still in Keith’s room. He could tell because it was much cleaner than his own, with Keith’s trademark red jacket hanging neatly on a hook across from the bed.

Oh, and the fact that Keith was curled around him, still sleeping soundly.

_Oh my God. How is anyone that cute when they sleep? OH MY GOD. We-we slept in the same bed, I didn’t mean to fall asleep, is he gonna be mad? Shit, is there any way I can get out of here without waking him up-_

Lance’s thoughts were halted when Keith blinked up at him, raising an arm to his mouth to stifle a yawn. He was sure he looked like a deer in the headlights, but Keith only smiled crookedly at him. “Do you feel any better? You basically passed out in the middle of some story about a jellyfish?”

Lance had to hold back a fit of hysterical giggles as he slumped back onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling. “Yeah. I do, actually. Thanks,” he said sincerely. He turned his head to meet Keith’s eyes. “Sorry for, uh, conking out on you. I was gonna go back to my room, I swear-”

“It’s fine, Lance,” Keith said, cutting him off. He looked away, a blush forming on his cheeks. “I think it helped me, too, uh. Normally I have trouble staying asleep because of nightmares, but. Yeah. So, thanks.”

Lance didn’t bother hiding the soft expression that overtook his face and he grinned widely at Keith. “Glad I could be of assistance, then.”

Keith mumbled something and detangled himself from Lance. “Let’s go join the others for breakfast before they send out a search party.”

“ _Ughh_. Fine,” Lance said, reluctantly pulling back the covers and following him out the door.

“Hurry up, slowpoke,” Keith called over his shoulder.

Lance grinned at Keith’s back and quickened his pace, bumping their shoulders together when he caught up. Keith looked at him out of the corner of his eye, a small smile making the corner of his mouth twitch, before Lance raced down the hall ahead of him.

“Race you!”

“Hey, wait-” Keith sputtered indignantly, sprinting after him. “Cheater!”

Lance turned his head to stick his tongue out, never slowing his pace. His legs were longer than Keith’s, and with his head start he was able to skid into the dining hall just seconds before him.

“Haha! Victory!”

Keith shoved him affectionately and he heard Pidge snort and mutter something to Hunk as Lance gazed back at him, his triumphant grin softening into a more bashful one. Keith coughed awkwardly before shooting Lance a tiny smile and joining the others at the table. Lance stood for a moment longer, looking at all his friends, his second family, seated in front of him, all talking and laughing together.

“Hellooo? Lance? Are you gonna eat or what?” Pidge called out, breaking Lance from his reverie.

He shook his head slightly to clear it and said with a laugh, “Yeah, yeah, don’t get your undies in a twist, gremlin.”

None of them knew, really, when they would finally return home, return to Earth and to their families. They could defeat Zarkon a month from now, or it could take years longer in space before they’re able to free the universe of Zarkon’s influence. But Lance knew it was worth it to keep his family on Earth safe.

And in the meantime, he had found his own little family of aliens and paladins and giant robotic lions to keep him sane and remind him why he was fighting.

**Author's Note:**

> there'll be a (much longer) follow up to this that takes place a year later bc im a hoe for familial relationships
> 
> this is inspired by [this comic](https://www.instagram.com/p/BWSIQt-lWYe/?taken-by=rachelhuey88) by rachel huey
> 
> im on tumblr at [jeanmoraeau](https://jeanmoraeau.tumblr.com/)


End file.
